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Devil May Cry (2013) is way better than it has any right to be. I went in just looking to blow off steam with some button-mashing, face-rolling, tongue-in-cheek, silly fun. And while I got all of that, it's so much more than that.
The levels themselves are so...alive. Walls are shifting, floors are exploding, entire sections of levels are casually ripped apart and reorganized. And without interrupting the pacing of the game. It's awesome. There are details and world building hidden throughout.
The hack 'n' slash mechanics are some of the most fun I can recall. You get a new weapon every other level. Different enemies force you to you to use specific weapons and combos and there are constantly new variations. Bonus levels push you to master specific nuances of combat. Scoring rewards you for mixing up your attacks instead of finding one or two overpowered combos. There are enough combos that I can't keep them all in my head and rotate through them in a formulaic way.
Boss fights are just nuts. Not overly hard, but weird and original and creepy and delightful.
I completely forgot I originally bought the game because the Combichrist did the soundtrack. I jumped into the very first fight and got kicked in the face with nostalgia. It's not often you get heavy music in games and the aggressive industrial metal / electronic fits the vibe perfectly.
The level design is what really blows my mind the most. I will forever aspire to make games that feel this dynamic. This is what the medium was built for.
I know I'm gushing here, but god damn it's so good. Maybe the story is mediocre, I don't know, I've been too busy cranking it up and smashing things.
@abyrd I was ready to press 'like' until I saw the 2013. :) I think Ninja Theory's DmC did some interesting things that other games should consider, e.g. the control scheme where left and right trigger act as modifiers for the face buttons to use angel/demon abilities. I agree about the level design; they went for linear spectacles instead of the awkward PS2-era level design of the main series, which just got in the way of the action and pacing. The rest of their changes, not so much.
@pervognsen I haven't played any of the other entries (maybe I should?) so I didn't have any expectations going in. It does seem to be divisive but as a standalone game it's good.
@abyrd The latest (DMC 5) is an excellent entry point and is easy to recommend to anyone who likes that style of action game. The older games are a bit harder to sell if you aren't fully bought in already.